Medium: Green kid leather and gold pigment

Date: 1930-1932

Country: France

Credit: Gift of Frank Smith Collection

Shoes became more visible—and thus more important aesthetically—as hemlines rose during the 1920s. Evening shoes were especially stunning, and often featured elaborate embroidery or beadwork. By the 1930s, surface ornamentation was largely replaced by bold, geometric designs that revealed the influence of art moderne.

Object Number: 2008.84.5